NBA March Prediction: Damian Lillard gains MVP buzz
I can’t for the life of me figure out why Damian Lillard isn’t considered in the top group of MVP candidates. Most betting outlets that I’ve seen have him as the 8th best odds, with some having him even lower than that. I don’t think he should win the award, but let’s go over his case.
Lillard is averaging 30-8-4, which is great, but his case as a serious contender for the award is that arguably no one is more important to their team winning games than Lillard. The Trail Blazers are missing their second and third best players (C.J. McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic, who have played only 13 and 12 games respectively) and are still currently the 6-seed in a stacked Western Conference. All of that, which is not an exaggeration, *all* of that success is because of Damian Lillard.
Not only does Lillard have the second-most points in clutch situations this season, but if he doesn’t play out of his mind the Blazers lose. In wins, Lillard is averaging a ridiculous 33 points per game on 47/42/96 shooting splits. But in losses, those drop down to 26 points on 41/33/89 splits.
And because Portland is so bad defensively, where they currently sit as the third-worst group in the NBA, Lillard has so much pressure on him to be perfect offensively. If he isn’t great, they don’t have a chance.
What else does he have to do? Again, I’m not saying he should win the award and I’m not in the business of tearing down other players’ cases, but if he’s able to keep the Blazers’ head above water until the team gets healthy while putting up these kinds of numbers then I don’t know how anyone can say there are seven-plus players more deserving than him.